Fears for Spanish island holidays as Iran crisis to fuel huge price hikes on everything from hotels to beer
YOUR holiday sangria or paella could be much more expensive on your next trip to the Spanish islands.
Officials have said that destinations like the Canaries and Balearics will experience a price hike when it comes to food and drink because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The Spanish islands are incredibly popular with Brits, especially during the summer holidays.
The Canary Islands welcomes up to six million British tourists each year and it’s where you’ll find the likes of Tenerife and Lanzarote.
Meanwhile, around three million tourists visit the Balearics – with over two million heading to Majorca alone.
Both locations are popular thanks to their high temperatures and direct flights from multiple locations across the UK.
Now, industry chiefs have said the increase in cost of food and drink at these destinations will be worse than 2022 when prices shot up after the war in the Ukraine began.
Urgent meetings are already being held in the Balearic Islands and in the Canaries which are very dependent on imports due to their more isolated locations.
In July 2022, inflation climbed to 10.8 per cent in Spain.
President of the Association of Food and Beverage Distributors of the Balearic Islands, Mr Bartolomé Servera is warning of severe increases, which will depend on the duration of the crisis in Iran.
Mr Servera said the new impact will be much greater if the conflict is prolonged as the weight of the Middle East is much greater, especially through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 per cent of oil and gas pass.
Mr Servera says carriers have already begun to raise prices because the price of fuel has skyrocketed.
Diesel has risen by 32 cents per litre, around 22 per cent; while Gasoline 95 has become between 18 and 20 cents per litre more expensive, which represents 12 per cent.
In addition, it is not ruled out that the barrel of Brent will continue to rise: this Wednesday (March 11) it is around 90 dollars, but this past Monday (March 9) it was close to 120 dollars.
This is likely to then effect everything on the island from hotels and resorts.
The association president said “Milk, eggs, bread, fruit will rise.
“Everything needs fuel for its production or transport, so they will not escape the escalation of costs and producers will have to pass them on to consumers.”
The Canary Islands also fear soaring prices and will meet with transport leaders shortly.
President of the Cabildo de La Gomera, Casimiro Curbelo said official need to be monitoring the impact of the war on the islands and prepare contingency plans.
The Government of the Canary Islands says it is “very attentive” to the consequences of the war in the Middle East and plans to hold a meeting with the transport sector in the coming days in view of the increase in fuel prices.
Faced with this situation, the Government of Spain is working on an aid package, as it did at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, to alleviate the looming rise in prices.
For more on Majorca, here are the hidden gems on the island loved by locals.
And one writer who has visited 100 countries explains why he always goes back to these Spanish islands that Brits love and have the best food and beaches.
